Changemaker Talk with Oscar-Winning OL Nathan Crowley

We were thrilled to welcome back Old Leightonian and Oscar-winning production designer Nathan Crowley for a special Changemaker Talk, delivered to an audience of captivated Lower Sixth and Year 11 Media students on Thursday 15th May. With a career spanning some of the most visually iconic films of the past two decades, Nathan returned to the Park to share not just his incredible journey through the film industry, but also the creative principles that guide his work.

Nathan began his talk with a showreel featuring highlights from his impressive portfolio, including the dramatic crash of a full-size Boeing 747 into a building in ‘Tenet’, the awe-inspiring fourth-dimensional tesseract in ‘Interstellar’, and the intricately designed rotating bookshelf from Wicked, for which he was recently awarded the Academy Award for Best Production Design.

He reflected on his early beginnings, crediting a formative experience shadowing members of the art department on Steven Spielberg’s ‘Hook’ at MGM Studios in Los Angeles. From there, he steadily worked his way up through the department on various productions, eventually becoming a Production Designer in his own right. Since then, he has collaborated extensively with legendary Director Christopher Nolan on titles such as ‘The Prestige’, ‘The Dark Knight’, and ‘Dunkirk’.

Nathan described the role of a Production Designer as “making you believe you are in the world of the film. To transport you into the story without you realising it’s not real.” A passionate advocate for practical effects, he explained that they bring more weight and realism to a scene than CGI.

The session offered students the opportunity to ask Nathan about his creative process, career path, and the realities of working in the film industry. His answers were thoughtful and generous, offering both insight and encouragement to aspiring filmmakers.

Reflecting on his time at Leighton Park, Nathan shared, “I think for me, LP — it sought me out. It really helped me become self-confident. And that’s what this school gave.”

Dylan, a Lower Sixth Media student, said: “I thought it was unbelievable to have an Oscar winner just right in front of us. Seeing a person who’s been involved in so many absolutely massive projects and films that have shaped the world… I think it shows that things like that are possible. If you want to end up like that, it is possible — you just have to put the work in. It’s brilliant.”

Reece Kelly-Gould, Head of Film and TV at Leighton Park, added: “It’s really important to have someone so inspirational who’s been working in the industry for such a long time. That inspiration is really key to education and really key to finding pathways into an industry you didn’t know necessarily might have been accessible. My hope is that the students in that room may have been inspired and thought, ‘I could do this.’”

Nathan’s visit was a powerful reminder of the transformative potential of creativity, resilience, and mentorship — values that sit at the heart of our education.